“STREET SMARTS” is the first of its kind PROACTIVE defensive course for personal protection. Instead of hand to hand training or firearms training, Street Smarts deals with OBSERVATION training and learning how to identify potential threats prior to an incident happening.

Building on Proven Government methods of Surveillance Detection doctrine, Street Smarts teaches the participants how to identify if they are being followed and at possible risk of violent crime such as kidnapping or assault.

Because of today’s uncertainties, “Street smarts”, a course originally designed for the protection of women, has become popular and is applicable to people from all walks of life. Business professionals, parents with children, travelers and college students all see the benefits of developing Situational Awareness and becoming a “harder target”.

In “Street Smarts” you will learn components of proper Surveillance Detection, how to develop a Surveillance Detection Route, incorporate it into your daily routine, and how to gather evidence on a potential stalker or surveillant to take to the authorities PRIOR to an incident.

In addition, if you have missed all the “signs” or become a victim of a an opportunist, “Street Smarts” will instruct you in how to defeat common restraints such as tape and handcuffs using the same advanced methods special forces and government agencies use.

Finally, “Street Smarts” teaches you how to put distance between you and your threat once you have escaped your bonds by teaching the proper use of the Time-Distance Gap principle and other street smart techniques professionals use to save their lives.

“Street Smarts” is the only course of its kind which demonstrates through classroom instruction and time on the street that pro-activeness is equal to or better than reactiveness. After all its better to avoid a kidnapping than to escape from one and that’s the prime goal of “Street Smarts! Prevention = Success!

Ben has been teaching Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) since 1981 when he joined the USAF as a “Survival Instructor”. In that Thirty plus year period he has taught all aspects of SERE, trained at both domestic and international schools, written SERE doctrine and instruction, researched and developed cutting edge techniques for dealing with both psychological and physical challenges and injuries, tested equipment and wrote evaluations on results. He is a Master Instructor.

The groups and individuals whom Ben has instructed and/or developed programs for include people from various military branches, government agencies, and civilians from all different backgrounds. Members of the Rangers, Green Berets, Pararescue, Combat Control, Navy SEALs, Air Force Crew Members and MARSOC are just some who Ben has taught. Outside the military he has taught people from the DEA, Local Law Enforcement, Department of Natural Resources, the FBI and other Federal Agencies. Equally adept at teaching civilian groups, Ben has instructed various lessons and developed programs for groups such as the Girls Scouts of America, South Carolina public schools, Covenant Heights and others.

Unlike many Instructors in the “survival” world, Ben brings to the table both experience from training as well as experience from some of the toughest streets and locations in the world. Ben has won Instructor of the Year three times, nominated for twelve outstanding Airman awards, awarded numerous decorations and developed some of the most complex and sophisticated training courses in the world. Based on this, Ben has created courses in Travel Safety, Hostage Survival, Field Survival and now exclusive to the Universal Survival Innovations World, “Street Smarts” and “Get of the X”, both of which have their bases in real training for highly specialized people.

There are courses and there are COURSES and the difference is the experience and people developing them. In a nut shell the world of Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape is a vast and complex matrix of field craft (basic survival), urban, interrogation, defense, escape, camouflage, movement, etc. It is all designed around the survivability of an Isolated person(s) and their ability to “Survive and Return with Honor”.

In this Survival arena there are two groups of Instructors. Those who have built their courses based on what they remember from their training and what they have learned from books and those who are professionally trained and made a career of being a “Survival Instructor”. The difference is obvious.

Instructors who have taught courses, at the many Military and Governmental facilities, come from many different branches, commands and agencies. To a person all of these people are highly dedicated and professional individuals. However, with the exception of one group all are controlled short term tours and none have a career field designated as SERE except one, The United States Air Force SERE Specialist.

SERE Specialists are “born and bred” into the career field and their Air Force Specialty Code AFSC (MOS) and permanent assignments are SURVIVAL (SERE) related 100%. Their indoctrination course, instructor course and subsequent training are all related to protecting human life and training people to return. The Instructor qualification course is 6 months long with a 4-6 month certification follow up.

All in all it takes up to a year before an USAF SERE Specialist is qualified to teach basic field training and its components. Parachuting, Resistance, Water, Academics and the rest all have their individual “ramp ups” and it can take years to accomplish them all. Overall it is the longest continual training process in the military.

If an instructor develops enough expertise, experience and background then they may be assigned to research and write doctrine and lessons for the USAF and the rest of the military through the USAF SERE program development unit simply known as Curriculum. This is where USI stands out!

The lead Instructor of USI didn’t just teach SERE he wrote the doctrine on what many “survival schools” are now teaching and has continued to develop and produce curriculum based on 33 years of experience an thousands of hours of research for government agencies, military units and civilian courses.

NOW he is developing cutting edge 21st century training programs to help you survive in a very uncertain and unstable world. We are not just another training group we are USI and not one can do what we do.